The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
It is generally believed (by non-proponents of alternative medicine) that the only effective treatment for cataracts is surgery. While cataract surgery is considered to be generally safe, it can be a very daunting prospect for many individuals. Moreover, there are numerous risks associated therewith, including infection, swelling, bleeding, retinal detachment and loss of vision.
On the other side of the spectrum, homeopathic efforts have been put forth towards non-surgical alternatives to cataract surgery. Such efforts include eye drops having homeopathic active ingredients that are micro-diluted and homeopathically potentized.
Examples of known efforts can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003/0017216 to Schmidt et al., 2007/0275098 to Banks, 2008/0033027 to Bascomb et al., 2008/0033027 to Bascomb et al., 2009/0215852 to Bascomb et al., 2010/0222587 to Hughes et al., and 2012/0142652 to Hughes et al.
Unfortunately, there is apparently a clear divide between proponents of mainstream conventional medicine and proponents of homeopathic alternatives. While some proponents of mainstream medicine have attempted to find alternatives to cataracts eye surgery, they have apparently failed to consider the possible use of homeopathic ingredients or preparations. See, for example, Shi, qiong et al (Oct. 21, 2009) Effect of a Combination of Carnosine and Aspirin Eye Drops on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Cataracts in Rats. Mol Vis. 2009; 15: 2129-2138 (Oct. 21, 2009), see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773744. Therefore, people have failed to appreciate that superior compositions and methods could be achieved using a combination of homeopathic remedies and allopathic medicine.
Thus, there is still a need for compositions and methods of treating and preventing signs or symptoms associated with eye diseases.